I think there are two questions here: are you more concerned with convenience and lack of maintenance, or the best sound possible?
Direct drive systems certainly tend to: get up to speed more quickly, have more automated features and don't need new belts, but.........there is a definite advantage to the speed consistency of a belt drive system. As was mentioned earlier, direct drive systems tend to constantly speed up and slow down. While a belt drive will typically measure worse than a direct drive, they typically have a more stable beat. I remember listening to a Linn table for the first time about 17 years ago and being amazed at how much it sounded like real music. It really sounded more like real musicians playing than a direct drive table or a cd player. So while a big deal has been made about motor vibration, I think that is secondary to pitch stability. Certainly, the better isolated a table is, the more detail can be retrieved from the record. IMHO, if you want the sound to be the most real, go with a belt drive and get a wall shelf to place it on. So is the next debate MC vs MM cartridges!!!!!
Tim
Direct drive systems certainly tend to: get up to speed more quickly, have more automated features and don't need new belts, but.........there is a definite advantage to the speed consistency of a belt drive system. As was mentioned earlier, direct drive systems tend to constantly speed up and slow down. While a belt drive will typically measure worse than a direct drive, they typically have a more stable beat. I remember listening to a Linn table for the first time about 17 years ago and being amazed at how much it sounded like real music. It really sounded more like real musicians playing than a direct drive table or a cd player. So while a big deal has been made about motor vibration, I think that is secondary to pitch stability. Certainly, the better isolated a table is, the more detail can be retrieved from the record. IMHO, if you want the sound to be the most real, go with a belt drive and get a wall shelf to place it on. So is the next debate MC vs MM cartridges!!!!!
Tim